The number of adults identifying as LGBT has risen dramatically among younger generations, a new poll found.
15.9% of adults in Generation Z, who were between the ages of 18 to 23 in 2020, said they identify as something other than heterosexual, a Gallup poll released Wednesday found.
That percentage decreases for each older generation. 9.1% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) said they identified as LGBT; 3.8% of Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980); 2.0% of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1980); and 1.3% of Traditionalists (born before 1946). (RELATED: ‘Stigmatizing’: FDA Eases Guidelines Allowing Gay Men, Injection Drug Users To Donate Blood)
The majority of respondents who said they consider themselves to be LGBT identify as bisexual, the poll found.
People hold balloons forming the word “Pride” during the Gay Pride parade in Pristina on October 10, 2019. – Hundreds of Kosovo people marched along the main street during a Gay parade demanding “freedom” and “equal rights” in the patriarchal and Muslim majority country with little tolerant views on sexuality. (Photo by Armend Nimani/AFP via Getty Images)
Among LGBT adults in the U.S., 54.6% said they are bisexual, 24.5% said they are gay, 11.7% said they are lesbian, and 11.3% said they are transgender. Out of all U.S. adults, 3.1% are bisexual, 1.4% are gay, 0.7% are lesbian, and 0.6% are transgender, according to Gallup.
Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer, which is why the percentages exceed 100% when added together.
Millennials and Generation Z were significantly more likely to say that they are transgender compared to other age groups. 1.8% of respondents from Generation Z and 1.2% of Millennials identified as transgender, compared to 0.2% of Generation X, 0.2% of Baby Boomers, and 0.3% of Traditionalists.
Millennials and Generation Z were more likely to say that they are transgender than to say that they are lesbian.
In older age groups, the number of people who identify as bisexual is not significantly higher than the number of people who identify as gay or lesbian. But among younger age groups, being bisexual is much more common – 72% of LGBT adults in Generation Z say they are bisexual, and about half of LGBT millennials say the same.
Overall, 5.6% of adults in the U.S. say they are LGBT, which is up from the 4.5% of adults who said they were LGBT in 2017. (RELATED: SURVEY: Fewer Americans Are Opposed To Allowing Businesses To Deny LGBT People Service Due To Religious Beliefs)
The Gallup poll surveyed a random sample of 15,349 U.S. adults with a margin of error of +/- 1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level.